


High Seas

by klowee



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 07:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1029087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klowee/pseuds/klowee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, Beca’s father takes her on a cruise as a graduation gift.  She thinks she’s going to hate it until she meets a crew of people who are awesome on the high seas</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**PART ONE**

Beca likes to travel; she doesn’t enjoy vacations. She wants to go around the world and experience culture — she wants to dine in hole in the walls and dance with the locals.  She doesn’t do resorts and she certainly wants nothing to do with a fantasy on a ship.

But here she is boarding _The Oasis of the Seas_ with her father and evil step-monster. First, her dad makes her go to university and obtain her degree and then he ‘rewards’ her by taking her on this nightmare with the world’s most awful woman for a week.  It’s not even like she could run and hide if she wanted to — they’re in the middle of the ocean.

“This ship is the biggest cruise ship on the ocean,” Beca’s father says as he stops in front of her stateroom.  Of course, he and his wife will be staying two doors down.

“I know, you’ve only told me 34 times,” Beca rolls her eyes at him.

“Oh Beca, you’ll have fun,” the step-monster speaks with an enthusiasm that makes Beca want to vomit, “The food here is divine and there are tons of activities! They provide an itinerary every day with what’s going on!”

“…because I am exactly the kind of person who just _loves_ activities,” Beca says flatly.

“They have some great shows,” Beca’s father pauses, “Hey, they even have Hairspray playing — I know how you love your musicals!”

“No, dad,” Beca opens the door to her stateroom and crosses her arms, “I love music — not to be mistaken for musicals.  And I’m going inside to unpack.”

“Well,” he sighs, “Safety drill will be very soon — you can take a nap or explore the ship if you’d like after.  We have the 6PM seating so we’ll see you at dinner, kid.”

She nods and closes her door.  There’s a single bed, a somewhat cozy seat by a window looking into the promenade of the ship, a tiny little washroom and a small vanity. The room is smaller than her first year dorm room — but at least she has it to herself.

She notices the itinerary on her bed that reads DAY ONE in big, bold letters.  She scans the sheet that says things like, _rock climbing 11AM, karaoke lounge, deck five 9PM, Water Show 8PM, deck four_.

Just as she’s about to wonder how she’ll survive the week — an alarm goes off and directions are spoken on PA system.  It’s safety drill time and Beca wants to die now.

It’s chaos.  She’s directed down a bunch of stairs and into an auditorium of sorts and is crowded with a bunch of people in bad vacation clothing — there is Hawaiian print in colours that shouldn’t be worn passed your single digit years _everywhere_.  She notices a bunch of uniforms and smiles so bright she’s pissed she forgot her sunglasses up in her stateroom.

In the centre of the room, there are a few crew members in white with life jackets and whistles performing some kind of safety demonstration that Beca’s half-heartedly paying attention to.

An Asian girl, with blunt bangs and the smallest voice she’s ever heard, introduces herself as Jilly — or maybe Lily — and demonstrates how to use a life jacket.  She speaks and it all comes out in mumbles.  Beca can’t hear anything and part of her hopes that this ship doesn’t sink because even after she’s dismissed, she still has no idea how a life jacket works.

Beca is already bored and decides to walk around the ship.  There are a lot of happy couples, old people and a few children.  Everyone looks like they just swallowed entire boxes of prozac and she feels completely out of place.  Staff members can be identified by their thousand watt smiles — she’s absolutely sure she has _never_ smiled that big in her whole life.

“Hey there,” she hears and spins around to a bigger blonde girl dressed in uniform.  She’s wearing a nametag that reads ‘Amy, Tasmania’.

“Hi,” Beca responds.

“You ready for 70’s night?” Amy asks.

“I don’t know what 70’s night is…”

“We get dressed up, play 70’s music and there’s a huge party in the promenade.  It’s actually pretty cool — you should come out for it!” Amy pauses, “And later this week, you can catch a couple shows — I mermaid dance in one of them.”

The girl looks too proud and Beca can’t help but offer her a slight smile, “This whole cruise experience is, uh, new to me.  It’s not really my thing.”

Amy smiles and widens her eyes, “Well, you’re stuck for seven days.  I’d try to make the most of it.  Even if you don’t make 70’s night — you really shouldn’t miss my mermaid dancing.”

Beca nods as Amy turns to leave, “I’ll try to make it.”

“It’ll be on your itinerary!” Amy sings and walks away.

Beca continues to explore the ship.  If Beca liked just laying out in direct sunlight, there were rows and rows of loungers on the top deck.  The pools looked clean and people were already wearing bathing suits and baking.  Everywhere she went, people were wearing _smiles_ and she had put a fake one on whenever these weird transients made eye contact or raised a cocktail glass at her.

She grabs a coffee in ‘Central Park’ — a park in the middle of the ship.  She blocks out the sounds of vacation with her headphones and takes a seat by herself on a random bench.  Every so often she feels the earth move and is then reminded she’s somewhere in the middle of the ocean — she guesses the ship has set sailed.

While walking through the ‘sports’ area (she ended up there by accident), she sees two girls behind the rock climbing counter with clipboards.  She has every intention to walk right pass them, but the one with the red hair calls out and gestures her to come over.

“Hi,” Beca says with an awkward smile.

“Interested in rock climbing?” The redhead with a nametag that reads ‘Chloe, United States’ says.

“I don’t rock climb,” Beca responds.

“It’s a lot of fun — we have different levels on our wall,” Chloe sounds encouraging.

“You’ll need socks,” the other girl, a blonde with a more serious face says.  Her nametag reads ‘Aubrey, United States.’  Beca looks down at her sockless feet.

“Guess I can’t rock climb,” she shrugs.

“Oh, we’ll be open for another couple hours,” Chloe says, “Hey, are you coming to 70’s night?”

“This 70’s night is a _thing_ here, eh?” Beca crosses her arms and stands back looking at the two of them.

“This cruise line is known for great performances, amazing entertainment, incredible food —“ Aubrey starts.

“Wow, you sound like a live broacher,” Beca interrupts.

“Is this your first cruise?” The redhead asks.

“How could you tell?” Beca pauses, “My father gave me this as a graduation gift.  I just finished university — I would have been just as happy with a bus ticket to LA.”

“That’s a really nice graduation gift,” Aubrey says, “All I got when I graduated last year was a ‘well, we expected that’ from my father.”

“I’m not really the cruise type,” Beca states.

“You don’t like fun?”  Aubrey raises a brow.

“Cruises are a lot of fun,” Chloe says genuinely, “And we’re here — we’re here to make sure you have the best time.”  She winks at Beca, “You should definitely stop by 70’s night — Aubrey and I will be singing Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’.”

“So you guys work the rock climbing and sing?” Beca asks.

“Oh, we have different shifts all day — and at night, we entertain.  We’re the entertainment staff on this ship,” Chloe smiles proudly, “I promise we’ll keep you entertained.”

“We’ll see what happens,” Beca says as she starts to walk away, “Thanks for the, uh, low down.”  Beca can’t be sure, but she thinks she may have heard the blonde complain about her attitude.  But she just keeps walking, wondering where in the states the redhead is from.  And for whatever reason, actually entertains the idea of maybe going to that 70’s night thing.

\--

Dinner goes surprisingly well and Beca finds that the food on this cruise is actually on the incredible side.  Her father tells her they will be at sea tomorrow and they’ll arrive at their first port the following morning — the Bahamas. Beca Mitchell never thought she’d be on a Caribbean cruise — but here she is, enjoying fine dining and preparing to dock at an island.

After dessert, her father and step-monster decide to head to a lounge for live music and cocktails. Beca passes rather quickly at the idea and almost nicely suggests they enjoy the evening alone while she goes off to wander.

After a tea and a walk around the ship, she finds herself at the promenade. Songs from the 70s she recognizes from her childhood are blaring out of the speakers and crowds of people are starting to form.

She sees the Asian from the safety procedure pass her and sees her nametag ‘Lily, Korea’. In a beat, she sees Amy who gives her a wave with a girl with an afro wig with a nametag that says ‘Stacie, Russia’. 

The music starts to fade and beams of light are flickering around the area and everyone’s attention is on a bridge where an entire crew of people are standing on the middle.

“Everyone ready to boogie?  It’s 70’s night!” A girl in a halter jump suit shouts into a mic.  The entertainment crew all take places and Beca thinks she recognizes the two mountain climbing girls — Chloe and Aubrey — up there.

They perform ‘Turn the Beat Around’ and actually sound really, really good.  Beca is actually impressed.

The redhead from earlier takes a solo and, Beca is almost absolutely certain, makes eye contact and sends a wink into her direction.

She feels her face heat up.  Her heart rate starts to pick up speed — which always happens when Beca enjoys a good live performance.  The entertainment crew is talented but her attention is captured by the redhead.

Beca ends up staying for the whole thing.  Aubrey sings a ballad and, though Beca thinks she’s kind of uptight, also thinks she has a rather enjoyable, clear voice.  Soon, the entertainment crew is amongst all the guests encouraging everyone to dance.

In a blink, she feels fingers wrap around her wrist and is spun around to meet sparkling blue eyes.  “You made it,” Chloe says, smiling widely.

“There’s only so many things I can do on this ship,” Beca shrugs.

“Are you having fun yet?” Chloe, decked out in a skimpy 70’s costume, dances around as she talks.

“You guys sound pretty good,” Beca says instead of answering the question.

“Well, we’re here to entertain.”

“You have a nice voice.  I didn’t know you sing,” Beca corrects herself, "I didn't know you'd sing so _well_."

“Dance, sing, act — most of us our triple threats!” Chloe looks like she’s just had the world’s most brilliant idea and asks, “Do you sing?”

“Uh, no,” Beca shakes her head.

“Shame,” she looks deflated for a second, but recovers fast, “You dance?”

“Not really.”

“Well,” the redhead takes a big step close, invading Beca’s personal space, “You don’t know it yet, but you’re going to have the best week of your life.”

Beca feels that blush on her face spread throughout her entire body.  She finds herself smiling, mirroring the girl smiling in front of her.

“Okay, so you’re technically not allowed ‘cause you’re, y’know, a guest on the ship — but I’m going to sneak you into the after party.  The whole crew goes down to the lower deck.  We have our own bar, our own dance floor — it’s a blast.  Say you’ll come?”

There’s something about this girl that makes it impossible for Beca to say no.  So, before she knows it, she’s nodding.

“Okay, I’m in.”

Chloe squeals and hugs her.  Everyone is dancing and the vibe is great.

Maybe this won’t be the worst week of her life, Beca thinks.

 


	2. Part Two

The glitz and glamour of the ship start to fade slightly as Beca enters the crew corridors of the ship — the interiors begin to look more plain; the walls simply white and blue.

She’s impressed with how observant she can be considering she’s currently being dragged at her wrist by the enthusiastic redhead pushing doors, leading her down stairs and pulling her through hallways.  The ship feels rockier down here and Beca wonders if the smile on Chloe’s pretty face is permanent.

It certainly doesn’t fade, Beca notes.  Even when the blonde catches sight of the intruder in the staff area.

“What’s she doing here?” Aubrey crosses her arms and glares at Chloe, “Are you trying to get us fired?”

“She’s fine,” Chloe says.

“It’s against the law,” Aubrey states with conviction.

“Pffft,” Chloe dramatically rolls her eyes, “We’re on international waters — there _is_ no law!”

“Remember that time where we’re on the strictest ship on the ocean and we have a whole bunch of rules to follow?” Aubrey raises a brow at the two of them.

“I really don’t need to be here,” Beca steps into the conversation.

“She’s with _me_ ,” Chloe states firmly.

“Well, I want nothing to do with this,” Aubrey pauses, “You know how tight they are on policies.  Two complaints rule?  You really want to risk your job over a party?”

“It’s really okay…” Beca tries again.

“Honestly, I have a month left on this ship and if they want to send me home early, whatever, Aubrey,” Chloe shrugs.

“You’re being an idiot.”

“We’ll see you inside,” Chloe tugs at Beca again and the brunette awkwardly follows her through a heavy door.

  
Beca opens her mouth to speak but Chloe silences her with a smile as she shakes her head — Beca follows her inside.

There’s upbeat music, bar lighting and a whole bunch of people dancing close to each other with drinks in hand — Beca feels like she stumbled on set of a modern day _Dirty Dancing_.

Chloe shakes her way onto the dance floor and is grabbed by the waist — some guy wearing an untucked server’s shirt grins at her as he flushes their bodies together.  It appears as though she entertains him for a few beats before she twirls herself away and back to Beca.

The small brunette stands awkwardly staring at the whole scene in wonder.  Chloe turns to her and offers to grab her a drink.  Beca nods and the redhead is off to fetch a round.

While waiting, she sees Amy laughing with that murmuring Asian girl as more of the people from the 70’s night in the promenade start filling the room.

Back at the bar, she sees that guy who attempted a dance with Chloe follow her there and lean on his elbow.  He’s clearly a dining room server and is obviously making moves on the redhead.

“He’s been working on her for _months_ ,” Stacie says as she comes up stand by Beca.

“You think she’ll give in?” Beca asks, politely continuing the conversation.

“Doubt it,” Stacie grins, “By the way, I’m Stacie.”

“From Russia?”

“Ah, saw the nametag! Yes, from Russia. Just another one of the entertainment directors. Did Chloe bring you down here?”

“She did.”

“Well look at that,” Stacie nods, looking rather incredulous, “I’ve never seen her break the rules.”

“Aubrey did warn her,” Beca shrugs.

“Ah, she’ll be fine.  None of us would rat each other out.  I’ve snuck a few boys down here myself,” Stacie winks.

Beca’s face heats up at the implication. Now, she thought it was odd that a stranger would be so friendly — then she decided it was her job to be nice. But after that really uncomfortable exchange between Chloe and Aubrey, she realized it wasn’t part of her job at all. Beca didn’t question what she was doing here or why until Stacie suggested such an idea.

The weirdest part of all was Beca was definitely _curious_.  Of course, she could be wrong and she should probably not assume anything.

  
Beca shook her head, shaking the thoughts out.  Then, it occurred to her she still hadn’t reacted or responded to the girl speaking to her.

“Oh,” Beca says all of a sudden, “You’ve snuck guests down here?”

“Yeah,” Stacie grins, “It’s policy we don’t.  Aubrey gets all mad at me when I do things like that too — but she’d never say anything to anyone.  Like, she’s tough but she’s not a snitch.  She’s actually a really cool chick once she calms down a little.”

Beca nods before Stacie says something quick and chases after someone and pounces on them. 

While waiting for Chloe to return, Beca has her first “Jesse” attack in a long time.

She had been dating this guy for three years back at Barton University and they’d had a pretty good run considering she was only mildly interested in him from the get-go.  But he was persistent and always very thoughtful.

  
Then, she reminded herself: she missed the idea of him and didn’t actually miss _him_ — which was why she broke up with him in the first place.  The breakup ended up hurting her ego more than anything because Jesse had recovered rather quickly and started courting some freshmen three weeks after they split up.

Before she could get stuck in an annoying introspective state, Chloe was back and she had a beer in her hand.  She watched the girl start bouncing in front of her.  “So what did you go to school for?” Chloe asks.

“I have a useless English degree,” Beca shrugs.

“I have a useless music degree,” Chloe says, “And here I am doing so much with it!”

“You have a pretty voice.”

“Thanks,” Chloe smiles and Beca notes just how pretty she is when her face is bright.

Beca slouches into her spot as she takes a swig at her beer as the song transitions to a new one.  It’s David Guetta’s _Titanium_ and Chloe’s face lights up just before she pulls Beca towards the dance floor.

“You like this song?” Beca smiles, surprised in the flavour of music the redhead enjoys, as she subtly dances in a spot.

“It’s my lady jam,” Chloe winks as she pulls the small girl closer.

“This is actually kind of fun,” Beca admits as she feels Chloe’s hand on her waist, “Like, better than I expected.  For sure.”

“And it’s only the beginning,” Chloe grins, “I promise I’ll hook you up with the best week of your life.”

Beca nods and continues dancing.  Every time the redhead comes closer, Beca’s pulse picks up and she’s torn between attributing it to the beer or the close proximity — either way, she hasn’t felt this good in a while.  She’s actually having an enjoyable time and she can, with absolute conviction, say there’s no where else she’d rather be.

“Let’s go do a shot,” Chloe laces her fingers through her own and drags her to the bar.

For whatever reason, she can’t say no to this girl.  And she does it all with a smile.

\--

The next morning is rough.  Beca wakes up in her bra and underwear wrapped in a duvet with her head buried beneath an industrial fluffy pillow — her head is pounding. 

She rolls over onto her back and stares at the ceiling.  She vaguely remembers the redhead helping her back to the guest part of the ship and ushering her to her stateroom — but couldn’t help her down the corridors.

 _“I can’t_ ,” _the redhead giggles, “We’re not allowed on this part of the ship!”_

_“But — please?” Beca begged, pulling her forearm.  After her fourth tequila shot, she began to mirror the staff member’s touchy-feely behaviour._

_“I have to be up in three hours for work, I have to head back to my own room — you’ll make it!  I’ll stand right here and watch you disappear down the hall,” Chloe offers a sweet smile and anchors herself against the wall._

_“I’m really glad I met you,” Beca says honestly as she steps close to the redhead again.  It’s like a weird déjà vu — but it’s just not something Beca would usually do._

_“Me too,” Chloe leans in and kisses her softly on the cheek._

_  
Beca’s face heats up and she backs up quickly from the contact.  The girl just kissed her on the cheek and she feels her entire body react.  It’s just the booze, it’s just the booze she chants in her head._

_“Good night,” Beca makes her way down the hall._

_“I’ll see your pretty face tomorrow, k?”_

_“For sure,” Beca eventually finds her room._

She’s hungover and dizzy — but just the memory from last night causes Beca’s face to turn a shade of crimson so embarrassing she’s glad no one can see.  She’s going to refuse to admit her crush on this random girl who works on this random ship to herself for now.

  
But she _will_ let herself see what happens next. 

  
After all, she’s only here for a week.


	3. Part Three

After a shower and possibly the best breakfast sandwich Beca has ever had in the world — she starts to feel like a normal human being.  She chugs a perfectly fixed coffee and feels like she can function again. She slowly stops hearing her heartbeat pound in her head and her world seems to finally stand still.

That’s when she realizes she’s docked in the Bahamas.

Turns out everyone on that ship wasn’t just being considerate of her hangover — they were off exploring the island.  She didn’t see very many people this morning — guests or even crewmembers.  Beca sighs as she catches herself wondering where that red head (whom she apparently has become the _fastest_ friends with) is at.

Before she leaves the room to actually start her day, she throws on some black eyeliner and applies mascara — no, she doesn’t typically wear makeup on vacation. Then again, she doesn’t typically vacation. But then the fear of likely running into a girl she typically wouldn’t be so distracted by doesn’t typically run through the back of her head either.

Of course, this wasn’t a typical week.

She grabs her passport and boards off the ship to explore the Bahamas a bit before they set sail again.  Because it’s so late in the day, the lineup is non-existent and she’s quickly being greeted by local merchants trying to sell kitschy souvenirs like multi-coloured key chains and painted ceramic ashtrays.  They are anxious to prey on tourists — and though they are aggressive, Beca handles them well.

She humours the first two before she finds herself shaking her head with a pre-prepared _no thank_ you as she walks into town.

There’s an internet café and she figures she may as well check her facebook and her e-mail and takes a moment to note how nice it is not being distracted by an iPhone all day.

But this turns out to be a less than stellar idea because there’s a private facebook message from Jesse living in her inbox.

She skims the lengthy note that runs on about his recent activities, lame 80s movies he’s rewatched and how his brother bought a new car — which, by the way, she doesn’t actually care about — but her heart still falls when she sees I _miss you_ at the end of it.

She takes into account the fact he didn’t reference his girlfriend (who was likely a rebound) once and is suddenly irritated.

  
Because when you break up you’re supposed to leave each other alone and carry on with your lives without disrupting your exes.  It’s a respect thing, right?

Like a fool, she reads it again and then she’s angry.  Like, pressing the escape button on this public keyboard frantically and bailing on her internet session with nearly full time left because she’s that mad.

The middle-aged local manning the internet café looks at her like she’s crazy as she stomps out of the shop.  She’s marching through this little town in the Bahamas back to the ship with a sense of urgency and a chip on her shoulder as smiling people and sun beams down on her. 

She realizes she’s inappropriately angry — which bugs her more.  She’s upset over the fact he contacted her and though she is over him, breakups still suck and she’s reminded that she wasted a bunch of time and mixes on him.  She’s annoyed, she’s irritated and most of all she’s angry she’s having any feelings about this at all.

She’s going on a tangent inside her head, ignoring everything around her until she passes through security and is back on the cruise ship.  There’s this hand on her shoulder — she flinches and whips around to find a rather confused redhead staring at her, wide eyed.

“Wha—“

“Hey, you okay?”  Chloe is standing there with a look of concern immediately replacing a smile she could tell was _just_ there.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Beca responds sounding not fine at _all_.

“You sure?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Beca sighs, frustrated and angry still.

“—something happen on the island?  Did someone—“

“No,” the irritable brunette slams her eyes shut and opens them, “Nothing.”

Chloe gives her a moment and studies Beca’s face for a moment, “Listen, if there’s anything I can do — just let me know?”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Beca says with an unnecessary harshness before continuing her imperial march deeper in the ship.

Just as Beca enters the promenade near the center of the ship, she is flooded with a sudden wave of remorse.  She’s just acted like a complete asshole to this girl who has been so _awesome_ and she feels like an idiot.

And though she may not actually care about her annoying ex-boyfriend, she does, for whatever reason, actually care about what this girl may think and how she may feel about her poor behaviour.

So she turns around and walks briskly back to where she entered the giant boat with aggression slipping out of every step she takes.

She finds Chloe and evaluates whether or not she looks busy. Considering there’s no one else around other then some crew members greeting the few people coming back to the ship, she decides she’s not _that_ busy and pulls her aside.

“I’m sorry,” Beca starts, “I didn’t mean to freak out or whatever.  It was just bad timing.”

“Are you okay?” Chloe asks again, slightly hesitant.

“Yeah, I’m fine for real,” Beca pauses, “Just — I just got this really annoying e-mail.”

“Oh,” the redhead takes a step forward and puts a hand on her shoulder. Beca accepts the gesture of affection and calms down a bit before Chloe continues, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, no,” Beca says before sighing.

“Okay,” Chloe nods and pouts a little before she’s back to smiling.  Her warmth and positive energy is so contagious that Beca, the dark little storm cloud, is starting to relax her own face.  She drops her hand and steps back, “You seem better now.”

“I am,” Beca says and even punctuates her statement with an actual smile. She feels pretty lame all of a sudden but can’t seem to think of anything to say to redeem herself.

“So, what are you going to do with the rest of your day?” Chloe asks, saving Beca from falling into a hole of awkwardness.

“I don’t know,” the brunette shrugs and then grins, “Maybe check the itinerary?”

“Well,” Chloe smirks and does this cute thing where she raises her shoulders before she drops them, “I may or may not be performing in our production of _Hairspray_ tonight…”

“My dad mentioned that _Hairspray_ was playing,” Beca comments aloud.

“Well, maybe you and your dad should come watch it,” The redhead suggests with a wink.

“Maybe,” Beca nods, honestly considering it.  Clearly this girl wants her to see it — and her father would be over the moon if Beca were to suggest doing anything together.

“…then I’m free after the show,” Chloe shrugs in this way that looks pretty innocent but seems kind of suggestive.  Beca is smiling in response to it — and blushes when she realizes she’s doing it.

“I’ll let him know at dinner,” she says after a moment.

“Excellent.”

After letting Chloe return to work, Beca makes her way back to her stateroom. She vaguely lets herself think about the fact she was raging half an hour ago and how she’s grinning like a fool now.  She thinks about how she wanted nothing to do with this vacation two days ago and how this is turning out completely different than she thought it would.  She thinks about what she might be doing later tonight after the show and if she will be able to fill up Chloe’s free time.

Then, she decides, maybe she’s thinking too much.  So she decides on taking her ipod up to one of the lounging areas to get lost in some music at sea.


	4. Part Four

A delicious piece of key lime pie garnished with a professionally sliced piece of the green citrus fruit arrives at the table and is placed directly in front of Beca.  The dinner conversation has been pretty decent, safely being kept on topics such as the food in front of them and different activities offered on the ship.  It’s mostly her father dominating the table, her step-monster chiming in occasionally and Beca eating with an occasional nod.

So, after her first bite of the surprisingly tasty dessert, she decides to bring up the show.  “What are you planning on doing this evening?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Her father is pleasant and smiles at her, seemingly delighted his daughter has taken interest in his day, “How about you, Beca?”

“I was considering _Hairspray_ ,” Beca looks up from her dessert, directly at her dad, “If you’re interested.”

“I heard they do a great job on that production,” The step-monster says.

“Since you mentioned it, I thought you might want to see it,” she ignores the woman staring her down and doesn’t stop looking at her father.

“Is it okay if I join you two?” The other woman asks, almost nervously.

“That’s fine,” Beca shrugs, “It’s a show so it’s not like we’ll have to talk to each other.”

  
It’s awkward for a moment, but then Dr. Mitchell eases the tension with a smile.  “This is great. I am looking forward to seeing a good show with my two favourite gals.”

Beca pretends she didn’t hear that and cuts herself a bigger bite than her little mouth can handle and eats more pie.

\--

The show is _awesome_ and though musicals aren’t really her thing, Beca genuinely appreciates the talent on stage.

She’s convinced Aubrey shot daggers at her in the middle of a song — which she would be able to confirm had she been paying attention — instead, her focus had been a redhead in a blonde wig.  She had spotted the sparkling blue eyes immediately.

Beca felt a cocktail of emotions stream through her as she sat in the audience.  She kept her face stoic as her father sat next to her — but there was something about the way that Chloe moved on that stage. She felt energy and heat — it was impossible to stop watching.  She was just so _talented_.  Beca just felt so voyeuristic. And she loved every minute of it.

  
The show ended and people start to file out of the auditorium doors.

The three of them are awkwardly standing at the exit.  Her father suggests the three of them find a lounge and talk about the performance they just saw.

As if to save her, Chloe appears — still in her blonde wig and slightly out of breath.  “You like the show?”

“You gave a great performance,” Dr. Mitchell says as he reaches out to shake her hand.  The step-monster nods and smiles in response.

“Thanks, I’m glad you folks enjoyed it!”

“You were pretty awesome,” Beca says, almost shyly.  It’s kind of awkward for her — all with her dad, this woman she doesn’t really like and this girl she seems to _really_ like all standing together.

“Come upstairs for the after party?” Chloe asks Beca.

Before she answers, she looks at her dad — willing him with her eyes not to say or do something embarrassing.  Though he may not be the world’s greatest dad, he is well aware of the fact that his daughter is _not_ the most social human being on the planet and rarely shows interest in people.  He obviously picks up on some kind of _connection_ between the two.

“Go up with your friend,” he says, encouraging and kindly, “Sorry, what your name?”

“I’m Chloe,” she shakes his hand again.

“Pleasure. I’m Dr. Mitchell, Beca’s father,” he smiles at her fondly, “Have a good night, Beca — we’ll see you at breakfast.” The step-monster says something like “be good” but no one really hears her.

Beca lingers, fidgeting as they walk away.  She watches them and feels Chloe’s eyes on her. 

“Wait for me?” Chloe requests.  Beca turns to face her and matches her smile, “I’ll be really quick — I just have to take off this makeup and take my hair down.  Come back in here and take a seat and I’ll come get you?”

“Okay,” Beca says.  Because what?  She was going to say no?  She hasn’t really been able to say _no_ in two days.

\--

The lounge at the top of the ship looks like a set of a movie; a room filled with polished leather booths and high top seating all around. The servers are wearing white shirts and bow ties and Beca feels completely under dressed and out of place as she and her worn converse sneakers take a seat in a corner booth.

She recognizes Amy and Stacie even though they are wearing dresses that sparkle in the dim lighting. She sees the Asian laughing and dancing with a tall guy with glasses in the middle of the dance floor. It’s a good vibe here, she thinks.

But her eyes keep finding their way back to the head of loose red, wavy hair waiting at the bar.  Though she scans the room, in attempts to absorb her surroundings, her line of vision can’t seem to avoid landing directly on the girl currently fetching her a beverage.

Chloe turns around and makes eye contact with her almost immediately and flashes her a smile that says _I’ll be right over_ making Beca bite her lip.  She returns the smile and attempts to chill herself out as she feels anxious with the anticipation of having Chloe back in close proximity.

A chorus of a song later, Chloe is sliding into the booth after dropping two coasters down and placing their drinks on top of them.

“What is this?” Beca asks.

“Some kind of tasty cocktail Unicycle made,” she shrugs as she holds the straw back and takes a drink from the rim of the glass after offering a cheers in the direction of the bar.

“I don’t know if my liver can handle this week,” Beca says as she clinks her glass against Chloe’s; she takes a drink with her straw.

Another drink later, they’re on the dance floor and Dr. Dre is filling the room with his sweet 90s beats. Chloe is loosely holding onto Beca’s hand as she winds down and bounces back up. They’re both singing to the song and Chloe seems genuinely shocked and impressed when Beca raps.

Chloe falls into her as the song ends.  As the next song begins, Beca spins her out — but Chloe is caught by the server guy from the other night.  He grips her hips in a way that makes Beca’s heart sink into her belly.  He brings a couple of shots and does one with her. There’s something about his pervy grin and the way he checks Chloe out that makes Beca feel completely uncomfortable and possibly jealous.

So she withdraws from the dance floor and takes a seat back in the booth — a fresh drink waiting for her.  She downs it before she slams the empty glass back on the table.  She watches Chloe spin away and shake her head at the guy.

“Tom is just too much,” she hears Amy tell Stacie.

“She’s never going to give it up to him,” Stacie shakes her head.

Before Beca has a chance to process and finish eavesdropping — Chloe is back; clearly tipsy and pleasantly pushes into her side as she takes a seat in the booth.  Her face is close and Beca can smell sweet sugary alcohol on her breath when she leans in to say something in her ear.

“He’s so gross,” she says. Beca nods, Chloe frowns when she sees Beca glaring at the dance floor. She doesn’t move but asks, “You okay?”

Beca nods again.

“I think you’re really pretty,” Chloe says, even closer now.

That gets a reaction.  A full body exhale from Beca, even.  She twists her mouth a bit as she watches Chloe in her peripheral.  She’s washed over with a wave of heat when she says, “Yeah?”

“The prettiest thing I’ve seen my entire time aboard this ship,” Chloe says and there’s something so sexy about the way she pops the _p_ at the end of the word that has Beca sitting up straighter and pushing her own back against the seat.  She turns her head to face her and Chloe’s _right there_ and she’s just looking at her in this wicked way that causes her heart to double its speed.

“You know you’re pretty,” Beca states after a few slower blinks. It’s clear Chloe likes that because her hand is on the smaller girl’s thigh now.

Beca knows what it feels like to want to kiss someone.  She knows the energy, she’s familiar with the heat and the intensity of the moment — and she knows, deep down in her chapstick, that this girl is _this_ close from it.

So she leans in just a little bit closer, inviting the next move.

But instead, Chloe tilts her forehead forward and sucks her lips into her own mouth and says, “I can’t.”  She lets out a breath that ghosts over Beca’s lips, “I can’t here.”

Beca wants so badly to surge forward, but she pulls back and maintains contact with the darkened blue eyes locked onto her own.  “You want —“

“Yes,” Chloe cuts her off and whispers, “You’re going to follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part five is coming soon :)


End file.
